MEDIA RELEASE
29 April 2016
Christchurch entrepreneurs win inaugural #MyBizQuest competition
Two philanthropic young Kiwis have taken out top honours in the inaugural 2016 #MyBizQuest competition, winning a
$10,000 business mentoring package for their newly established business, Little Yellow Bird (LYB).
Samantha Jones and Hannah Duder from Christchurch founded their ethical apparel company, LYB, in 2015. Their aim is to
create sustainable business practices and be instrumental in improving employment and social conditions in international
developing communities.
The company sells corporate clothing to local businesses and in the process empowers vulnerable women by providing them
with employment opportunities across the entire supply chain.
Quest Apartment Hotels (NZ) CEO Stephen Mansfield, “We are delighted to announce LYB as the first winner of #MyBizQuest.
New Zealand is producing exceptional start-ups and Quest is passionate about supporting these innovative Kiwis. Both
Hannah and Samantha have worked hard to start LYB, they have great ambition and with the help of the #MyBizQuest
programme their business can continue to grow and prosper.
“We’re really looking forward to mentoring them over the next year and can’t wait to see where they take LYB to next,”
Mansfield adds.
Samantha Jones, co-founder of LYB is delighted to have won the #MyBizQuest competition. “One of the most valuable
outcomes to winning #MyBizQuest has been meeting with Stephen and leveraging his expertise to help us to take our
business to the next level.”
Hannah Duder, co-founder of LYB, “Starting your own business can be difficult but having support from a well-established
company like Quest is extremely helpful. Through this process we have the opportunity to learn from their experience and
access their wider support network. The more LYB grows as a business, the greater our potential is to influence
positive, social change in our local and global community”.
Jones and Duder spent eight months developing their business concept before officially launching LYB in Christchurch in
July last year. While there are other apparel companies that cater to the corporate market, the pair saw an opportunity
to start a corporate clothing company with a distinct social purpose.
“There is currently no uniform company in New Zealand promoting ethical practice with a transparent process and supply
chain. LYB offers easy corporate social responsibility for businesses - our products are completely customisable at no
additional cost to the customer,” says Duder.
Quest Apartment Hotels established #MyBizQuest early this year to identify a New Zealand start-up business that would
benefit from financial backing and expert advice. The competition aims to encourage and support Kiwi entrepreneurs into
expansion.
LYB will be working with Quest over the next year to not only grow their business but educate their customers on ethical
manufacturing.
“We are passionate about using business as a force for good. Through our business venture, we want to prove that you can
run a successful business built on a moral foundation,” says Jones.
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